The Catalyst
by JandK4lyfe
Summary: The story of how Jared Cameron fell in love with Kim Connweller. Simple and beautiful. An imprint story.
1. Chapter 1

_Hello everyone! I'd like to start out by letting you know I'm dyslexic and do not have a proofreader. Therefore, there will be the occasional mistake. If this bugs you I suggest you stop reading now. Please do not leave rude comments. I have worked very hard to be at the level I am, thank you. But anywhoooo, I'm in love with Kim and Jared's story and have read just about every one of their Fanfictions. This is why I decided it was time to write my own version. I hope you all enjoy and please let me know what you think_

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own any recognizable characters

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 **Jared's POV:**

 _I stunk_. That was the first thing that crossed my mind when I woke up that Tuesday morning. The thought was soon followed by other brief observations like _I'm hot_ and _I'm wet._ Once the sleep finally left my mind and I could form a full sentence again, I came to the realization that I was sweaty. So sweaty, that I had left a man-sized outline on my bed sheets. Did I think this was odd? Yes. Did I stand there and contemplate it? No. I jumped out of bed and straight into the shower. In the shower, I thought about a lot of things. Things like _I think I'll make myself some eggs for breakfast, Isi Rivers ass looked incredible in the leggings she wore yesterday, I could have used my excessive sweating as a get out of school free card,_ and _but then I can't see how Isi's ass looks today._ After all the stink was washed off of me I tugged on a semi-clean t-shirt, some jeans, and my old dark blue sneakers. I brushed my teeth and combed my long wet hair. I walked out a couple steps into the small hallway of my family home. After stepping over random pieces of laundry and disfigured barbies, I made it to my seven-year-old sisters' room. I gave it a gentle knock and peaked my head into the room.

"Knock, knock sleepy head. It's time to get up Elan!" I whispered to the blob of dark hair and pink princess blankets.

"Jareeee!" she cried "I don't wanna go to school today!" She sat up then and pushed her wild hair out of her face.

"Elllllll!" I mocked "You have to go to school today. You know why?" I questioned, a smirk coming to my face.

"Why?" she responded, a tad intrigued.

"Because when little girls don't go to school…" I stepped closer to her bed "the…" I stuck my hand up in the air "…CLAW gets them!" I yelled while tickling her until she was crying with laughter.

"Stop Jare!" she yelled "okay, okay I promise I'll go to school!" at this I stopped and gave her a quick peck on the forehead.

"Okay, now that we got that settled. How many eggs do you want?"

"Hmmm…" she said while tapping her chin, something she learned from our mother. "Nine!"

"Two it is!" I replied while walking out her door.

I found my way into my families run-down kitchen. I opened a couple half broken cabinets that had about five layers of paint chipping off of them. The newest color was white, my mom read somewhere that white makes a room feel bigger. I didn't have the heart to tell her there was no possible way you could make our tiny kitchen feel any bigger. All that the white did was show all of our dirty fingerprints. I made my sister her two eggs with a side of toast cut into four triangles, just the way she likes it. Then I went ahead and made myself the rest of the carton, feeling extra hungry. After grabbing the lunches my mom made for us before she left for work that morning we were finally on our way to school. My sisters pouty 'I _don't want to go to school'_ face dropped as soon as she saw her friends near the swing sets.

My mood also perked up as soon as I saw my buddies gathered together on a table between the parking lot and the school. They seemed to be passing around a piece of paper and they all had mischievous looks plastered on their faces. This could not be good. I rushed over to see what was up.

"Jared, man, please tell me you think Isi's ass is so much nicer than Emma's" my friend Ben hollered as soon as I was close.

Before I could answer my best friend, Ahanu, pipped in. "Hey! That's not fair we all know Jared has a hard-on for Isi!" All the boys snickered at this "Come on, Emma's ass is so much rounder. Great for baby making, she deserves number one on the list!" Oh, so they were making a list, typical.

"I'd like to do some baby mak- "another boy started before I cut him off.

"You guys are such pervs," I said shaking my head, but they ignored me and continued writing down names. I tuned them out and watched my classmates fill into the school grounds. I've heard girls talk about how men have periods too like they have a time in the month when they have crazy mood swings too. I felt like this was that time for me. One minute I'm happy and want to have fun with my friends. The next minute I want to go back home and have my mom call me in sick. Also, despite the gloomy La Push weather, I could already feel myself start to sweat through my shirt. Does that happen to girls on their periods too?

My attention was brought back to the boys when one of them asked, "Can you think of anyone else for the list Jared?"

Then Ahanu piped up "Oh I know! What about Kim Connweller?" at the name I weird knot formed in my chest. "She's pretty hot."

"Are you kidding me, man?" Ben looked disgusted "I didn't know you were into fives. She could have a nice body if you ever found it under all the layers she wears!" the boys chuckled at this but the knot in my chest turned to fury. "I mean it." Ben continued "There's something off with that girl."

It felt wrong to let them talk about Kim like that. I had always had a soft spot for innocent Kimberly Connweller. She wasn't like other girls with their gossip and ever-changing attitudes. She was just nice, calm, normal, Kim. That, I suppose, is why I said what I said next. "Fuck off Ben, you're only saying that because you know you couldn't even get a two. You ugly ass. Leave Kim alone, she just shy." This was applauded with a round of "Ohhhhh" and laughter.

To which he responded, "I see your boner for Isi is pointing at weirdo Kim now!" The knot in my chest expanded with fury until it felt like it was going to burst, I was shaking all over. If it wasn't for the bell finally ringing and Ahanu dragging me into the school, I would have knocked Ben senseless right there on the pavement. What was wrong with me today!?

"Everything alright man? You feel kind of hot and you're acting really weird today. Is it your dad again? Did he come back? Dude, I really thought you were going to punch Ben when he started talking about Kim. Not that I blame you I want the punch Ben all the time. What's with that anyway, you have a thing of little Kimmy now?" Ahanu's great and all but the boy can talk. He asks a billion questions, but he's normally satisfied with one answer. So, I choose the first question to answer.

"Yeah everything's fine," I said calmly walking into my first-hour class, tribal history. Where, because of our last names, I sat next to the golden girl of the hour, Kimberly Connweller. She was already sitting at our conjoined table, fiddling with her large green hoodie sleeves. Her eyes were focused on the dark wood table in front of her, unaware of the meaningless noise all around her. She looked up and sat a bit straighter when I pulled my chair out to sit. "Hey, Kim," I said quietly. I felt like everything had to be quiet or soft with this girl. Like she'd run and hide if I spooked her.

"Hey." She responded with a slight smile and an awkward half wave. She then retreated back into her previous state, this time with a blush on her cheeks. Her shoulders scrunched up as if to make herself as small as possible. My heart panged for this girl out of pity, curiousness, or lust. I'm not sure which. All I knew was that I was hyper-aware of her presence today. I normally leave our conversations to just polite greetings but today I felt like I need more of her. Before I could, I got swiped into a conversation with none other than Emma James and Isi Rivers talking about my fast growing muscles, before I knew it, the class was starting.

Class started normal, but something happened every time Kim moved. Every time she picked up her pen to write a note or glanced up at the clock my senses seemed to heighten. I started sweating again and this time I felt the heat start to burn from inside of me. Next, my head started to pound, it seemed like I cloud hear everything. The kid behind me tapping his food, someone in another classroom sharpening their pencil, heartbeats. Kim's heartbeat, damn that was beautiful. At that thought, my vision started to blur in and out of focus. Soon colors began to change to red. When she glanced my way, I was done for. When our eyes locked everything went quiet for a second. But then I was up running out the door, letting instinct take me where ever it wanted. I found my way deep into the woods before the pain got too much to bare. I crumpled to the floor of the forest willing the pressure inside my chest to let up. I exploded. The pain was gone, colors were still distorted but they also seemed…familiar? I could hear the wind moving through each leaf and chipmunk paws scurrying up a tree. I tried to move but my limbs felt heavy and old. I howled when I found out why. My hands were replaced with giant brown _paws._ My mind really started to freak out then.

Until I heard a voice in my head say "Calm down Jared, its Sam Uley. I'm going to help you."


	2. Chapter 2

**Kim's POV:**

It was extra cold that Thursday morning and I found myself wishing I had the warmth of my absentee table mate next to me, despite having both a chunky sweater and a thick dark green rain jacket on. The small Reservation school that I currently resided in didn't exactly have all the funds in the world to spend on the heating bill. Therefore, the air blowing from the vent onto my back wasn't necessarily warm. If anything, the…let's say… 'lukewarm' air did more harm than good. It was currently softly blowing at my very wet feet. Why are they wet, you ask? Well, I made the mistake of wearing the new sneakers my father bought me for an early birthday present instead of my usual trusty boots and it just so happened that there were a couple of puddles in the parking lot that had a vendetta against me. The water had sept all the way down to my socks and the cool air was doing nothing to help my freezing toes. So far, this was a pretty bad day for me. Blame it on my Taurus sun sign but I wasn't the kind of girl to like anything less than comfort.

Though, I was pulled out of my thoughts of soggy socks, zodiac signs, and cool breezes when I felt steady warmth seeping into my right side. The same right side of me that had been vacant for the past two and a half weeks. 'Oh gosh no,' I thought to myself 'Jared must be back.' My stomach came alive with a whole swarm of butterfly's. Had he said hello? He normally says hello to me. Had I missed it? Oh gosh Kim why do you never pay attention? I took a deep calming breath and closed my eyes tight before I decided I better say hello just in case. So, I turned to him but to my surprise, he was already looking at me. His light brown eyes looked almost transparent with the morning sunlight from the opposite side of the room filtering through them. They stared back at me with the emotion of– awe? No, it couldn't be that, could it? Our staring contest lasted a second more, so I was able to notice how mature he now looked. His eyes didn't hold the same innocence, his cheeks were more hollowed out, brow bone and jaw both sharper, no more were his adorable chubby cheeks, and his once long dark hair was now messy curls at the top of his head. Adorable class clown Jared had turned into a GQ model in the span of just two weeks!

I knew I needed to say something and that our staring had gone on for a few too many beats. But, I couldn't. I was shocked about how much he'd changed, yes. But what was more shocking was this burning pressure in my chest. It was a feeling of total delight or attachment and I couldn't, for the life of me, understand why. The greeting that was in my throat was struggling to get passed the pressure. But it did, unfortunately. "Heyllo!" I blurted out. Instantly wanting to slap myself.

An amused smile formed on his lips transforming his face into a glimpse of the Jared I remember. "Heyllo to you to Kim," He said with a chuckle. "How have you been?" He said gently, never taking his gaze off my face. The past moments had finally caught up to me and the embarrassment set in. Suddenly, his gaze was too much for me, so I diverted my red-hot face forward to the almost full class in front of us.

"Uh, I've been…cold," I said light heatedly thinking back to my previous thoughts. When he didn't answer I glance back over at him to find a look of horror and worry on his face.

"Really?" He said while taking off the sweatshirt he was wearing, "Why didn't you say something sooner! Here, take this it'll warm you up. Are you feeling okay? You're not sick, are you?" He pushed his sweatshirt my way.

"No, no Jared I was just kidding." I laughed, "I don't need your sweatshirt. It's just a little cold in here is all. You keep it, you've only got a t-shirt on. I should be the one asking you if you're feeling okay. You've been gone for weeks."

Jared waved me off and draped the warm sweatshirt over my lap like it was a blanket. "You use the sweatshirt; I don't need it. But, yeah Kim, I'm good…" he paused and looked into my eyes "I'm really great actually." The smile returned to his face.

"That's awesome," I said back breathlessly and returned his smile. I was about to say more but our teacher stared class with his usual morning address. As usual, we were silent for the rest of the class. I couldn't complain though, I think that was the most I've talked to my lifelong crush in years. The burning pressure in my chest could help but want these conversations to happen more often. To my dismay, the class went by all too fast. Yet, the many times I caught Jared glancing my way will forever be burned into my mind. It seemed as though every time one of us moved it had an effect on the other. But I'll bet you a hundred bucks that just me wishfully thinking. When the bell eventually rang for us to head to our next classes I reluctantly took his sweatshirt off my lap. Right away, I missed the beautiful warmth if had offered me. I set it on our table while I packed up my stuff and pulled my backpack on. Turning to give it back to Jared I found him in a conversation with Isi Rivers. She and Jared hung around the same crowds at school and I knew them to be friends. However, it didn't help my confidence too much to see my crush talking to one of the prettiest girls on the reservation. I waited patiently for a moment, trying to turn away so it didn't seem like I was listening in on their conversation. Though, I couldn't help my stomach from dropping when I saw her hand run down his newly buff arm.

"Uh… that's nice Isi maybe another time." I heard him say almost uncomfortably while he glanced my way.

"But Jared we haven't seen you–"She started as her eyebrows rose with concern.

"I really have to get to class Isi, another time." He then quickly turned to me and gently grabbed my elbow. He pulled us out into the hall and far away from Isi. I couldn't say I was too hurt about that…and oh gosh he was holding my arm. Tingles erupted all over my body. Radiating outward from his touch.

"Uh, Jared here's your sweatshirt back." I tried handing to him

"Keep it."

"I'm not cold anymore you can hav–"

"I said keep it Kim, you need it more than me." He laughed like there was some inside joke I didn't know about him and sweatshirts.

"Okay but–" I began when we made it to the doorway of my next class. Wait, how had he known I had art now.

"Look, Kim," he said bending his head slightly to look in my eyes "I'm probably going to be gone the rest of the day."

"But it's only second hour." I said looking up to the hallway clock to make sure I wasn't in an alternate universe.

He chuckled, "I know, I just have some stuff to deal with. But you'll be okay the rest of the day, won't you?... and warm." He added at the end.

"Uh yeah, as okay and warm as one can be at school I suppose."

He smiled, "Good, then I'll see you tomorrow." And with a light squeeze to my elbow, he made his way to the front doors of the school.

I was completely and utterly baffled. What the actual heck just happened. It was too much to even think about. So, I didn't. I didn't think about his beautiful brown eyes looking at me, his lingering touch that still left tingles on my skin, or even the sweatshirt that he had so kindly given me. I didn't let these thoughts enter my head for the rest of school. It wasn't until after I had done my homework, taken my pills, and got ready for bed that I finally let my heart remember the past day's events. Laying in my comfortable bed with only the sounds of my empty house and my dog, Cassie, laying across my legs to keep me company. My heart fluttered with the memory of his laugh and beautiful face. I cuddled into his sweatshirt to welcome Jared's scent of wet grass and pine. I sighed peacefully and fell into a warm, peaceful sleep.


End file.
